Owner-reported complaints naming the steering system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the steering system — racks, columns, power-steering assist and steering linkage. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2008 Toyota Avalon submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 17 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
The telescopic steering wheel lever comes loose which will cause the wheel to lurch forward if the brakes are pushed in hard. This could be dangerous. This has happened twice in 2 months.
TILT STEERING COLUMN LOCK DOES NOT STAY IN PLACE AND WILL DROP DOWN ANY TIME. THE STEERING WHEEL CAN CHANGE POSITION ANY TIME AND MY KNEE HITS THE LOCKING LEVER.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA AVALON. WHILE DRIVING 50-60 MPH, THE VEHICLE SHOOK DRASTICALLY WITHOUT WARNING AND WOULD NOT STOP. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT A FRONT END ALIGNMENT WAS NEEDED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED MORE THAN TWICE. DUE TO THE FAILURE, A NEW RACK AND PINION NEEDED TO BE INSTALLED. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 102,000.
STEERING WHEEL LOCKS UP WHEN TURNING TO THE RIGHT
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA AVALON. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE STEERING WHEEL ADJUSTER HAD TROUBLE REMAINING LOCKED. THE FAILURE CAUSED THE STEERING WHEEL TO DROP VOLUNTARILY ONTO THE DRIVER'S LAP, WHICH MADE THE STEERING WHEEL IMPOSSIBLE TO STEER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 82,000.
THE ADVISOR FROM TOYOTA GARAGE TOLD ME THAT I HAVE TO CHANGE THE RACK BECAUSE THE POWER STEERING RACK IS LEAKING OIL AND I CAN HAVE AN EXPLOSION WHEN THE RACK IS FULL OF OIL. MY TOYOTA HAS 41.000 MILEAGE. HE IS LYING OR THE PART IS DEFECTIVE? I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. MY CAR HAD 2 CALLS: PEDAL AND VVT-1 (4-12-10) AND CRACKED DASHBOARD REPLACED (4-8-16).
TELESCOPIC LEVER IS RELEASED AND STEERING WHEEL MAKES TOWARD ON THE HIGHWAY IN DRIVING. THIS IS MY 3RD TIME EXPERIENCE. HOW CAN STEERING WHEEL LOCK IS RELEASED WITHOUT ANY WARNING IN DRIVING. ACCORDING THE 2008 TOYOTA AVALON MANUAL, TOYOTA ALREADY MAKES CAUTION LIKE THIS.(PAGE61) "AFTER ADJUSTING THE STEERING WHEEL. MAKE SURE THAT THE STEERING WHEEL IS LOCKED. OTHERWISE, THE STEERING WHEEL MAY MOVE SUDDENLY, POSSIBLY CAUSING AN ACCIDENT AND RESULTING IN DEATH OR SERIOUS INJURY." "WHILE DRIVING. DO NOT ADJUST THE STEERING WHEEL. DOING SO MAY CAUSE THE DRIVER TO MISHANDLE THE VEHICLE AND AN ACCIDENT, RESULTING IN DEATH OR SERIOUS INJURY." TOYOTA MANUFACTURER ALREADY UNDERSTAND IF STEERING WHEEL IS UNLOCKED OR RELEASE IN DRIVING, CAUSING IN DEATH OR SERIOUS INJURY. I THINK TOYOTA MOTOR COMPANY MAKES RECALL AND FIX THIS PROBLEM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. *TR
THE TELESCOPING STEERING WHEEL LOCK UNLOCKED WITHOUT WARNING AND THE STEERING WHEEL WENT FULL FORWARD. THE LOCK HAD ALSO COME UNLOCKED ABOUT A WEEK PRIOR BUT I HAD NOTICED IT AND CORRECTED IT PRIOR TO THE WHEEL GOING FORWARD. I DID SOME RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET TODAY AND NOTICE THAT THERE ARE NUMEROUS SITES WITH COMPLAINTS OF THIS SAME NATURE ABOUT THE AVALON. *TR
STEERING WHEEL COLUMN ADJUSTMENT LEVER DROPS DOWN ALLOWING THE STEERING COLUMN TO COLLAPSE FORWARD (OR MOVE BACK IF HOLDING ON TO IT DURING VEHICLE ENTRY). LEVER INTERFERES WITH ENTRY AND EXIT OF THE VEHICLE AND HURTS THE LEG. ANOTHER SAFETY ISSUE IS THAT THE COLLAPSIBLE STEERING COLUMN IS NOT LOCKED AND IF IT COLLAPSES DURING A CRASH COULD CONTRIBUTE TO LESS EFFECTIVENESS OF THE AIRBAG. THE PROBLEM STARTED SOON AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED NEW AND IS GETTING PROGRESSIVELY WORSE -- SOMETIMES UNLOCKING DAILY. *TR
STEERING WHEEL COLLAPSE WHILE DRIVING. TILT AND TELESCOPING STEERING WHEEL LOCK FAILURE. HAPPENS MORE FREQUENTLY AS AUTOMOBILE AGE. POTENTIALLY CAUSE FOR AN ACCIDENT. FOUND OTHER COMPLAINTS AT WWW.ABOUTAUTOMOBLE.COM. AUTOMOTIVE VIBRATION CAUSES LEVER TO LOOSEN AND HANG DOWNWARD. DRIVER ENTERING OR EXITING VEHICLE KNEE STRIKES LEVER CAUSING PAIN AND IN SOME CASES BRUISING. ASK LOCAL DEALER IF THERE WAS A SAFETY RECALL, THEY SAID NO. I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY NOT. *TR
THE LEVER THAT LOCKS THE TELESCOPING STEERING WHEEL IN PLACE LOOSENS/DISENGAGES, RESULTING IN THE STEERING WHEEL 'LURCHING' FORWARD. I HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS ISSUE MULTIPLE TIMES NOW. THE LEVER IS UNDERNEATH THE STEERING WHEEL COLUMN AND ENGAGES/TIGHTENS BY PUSHING IT UP TOWARD THE STEERING WHEEL. THE LEVER ENGAGES BY 'COMPRESSION' ONLY - THERE IS NOT CLIP OR SPRING THAT PHYSICALLY 'LOCKS' THE LEVER IN PLACE. OVER TIME, FOR WHATEVER REASON (ROAD BUMPS/VIBRATIONS/ETC. AND WITH THE HELP OF GRAVITY) THE LEVER LOOSENS/DISENGAGES. THIS IS AN INHERENT SAFETY DESIGN FLAW IN THE TELESCOPING FUNCTION, AND COULD RESULT IN A SERIOUS/TRAGIC ACCIDENT IF THIS OCCURS WHILE DRIVING AT A HIGHER SPEED OR WHILE IN THE MIDDLE OF MAKING A TURN. THERE WERE NUMEROUS SIMILAR COMPLAINTS LOGGED BY OTHER TOYOTA AVALON OWNERS ON VARIOUS WEBSITES WHEN I SEARCHED THIS ISSUE ON THE INTERNET. *TR
THE LEVER TO ADJUST THE TELESCOPING STEERING WHEEL ON MY 2008 TOYOTA AVALON DOES NOT STAY IN THE LOCKED POSITION. IT DISENGAGES (FALLS DOWN), RELEASING THE STEERING WHEEL AND ENABLES IT TO SLIDE IN AND OUT WHILE DRIVING. THIS HAS HAPPENED ON SEVERAL INSTANCES IN THE TWO YEARS I HAVE HAD THE CAR. IT HAS HAPPENED TWICE IN THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS. I HAVE SEEN OTHER INTERNET SITES THAT OWNERS WITH THE SAME COMPLAINT HAVE TRIED TO OBTAIN A REMEDY WITH NO LUCK. *TR
THE LEVER TO ADJUST THE TELESCOPING STEERING WHEEL ON MY 2008 TOYOTA AVALON DOES NOT STAY IN THE LOCKED POSITION. IT FALLS DOWN, RELEASES THE STREEING WHIEEL AND THEN IT SLIDES IN AND OUT WHILE DRIVING. IN THE LOWERED POSITION I HAVE TORN CLOTHING GETTING IN/OUT OF THE CAR. I HAVE PERMANENTLY SCARED MY KNEE AS WELL. I'VE TAKEN THE CAR IN FOR WARRANTY REPAIR THREE TIMES. THE FIRST TIME THEY REPLACED THE STEERING COLUMN. NOT SURE WHAT THEY DID THE 2ND TIME. THE 3RD TIME THEY SAID THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH IT! YEAH, RIGHT! VERY POOR DESIGN AND DANGEROUS. AND INJURIOUS. *TR
CKS OF THESE DEFECTIVE VEHICLE. WE HAVE AND ARE GOING TO LOSE BIG BY DEVALUATION OF OUR VEHICLES UPON ATTEMPTS TO SELL OR TRADE. THE ATTENTION TO REMEDY THESE ISSUES ON A TIMELY MANNER HAS GONE BY THE WAYSIDE . THIS WE ARE EXPERIENCING WITH CARDENAS TOYOTA IN HARLINGEN, TEXAS WHERE WE BOUGHT OUR VEHICLE NEW. OUR GOVERNMENT AGENCIES SHOULD BE PROTECTING THE CONSUMER, NOT ENCRICHING THE GOVERNMENT TREASURY. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA AVALON. WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH AND HOLDING THE STEERING WHEEL STRAIGHT, IT WOULD DRIFT TO THE LEFT AND RIGHT. IT BECAME DIFFICULT TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE WHEN IT CONTINUED TO DRIFT. THE DEALER WAS CONTACTED AND THEY STATED THAT THEY WOULD NOT WORK ON THE VEHICLE AND TO TAKE IT SOME WHERE ELSE. THIS OCCURRED SINCE HE PURCHASED THE VEHICLE. THERE HAVE BEEN NO REPAIRS MADE TO THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 40,000.
VEHICLE IS A 2008 TOYOTA AVALON. THE SAFETY ISSUE IS WITH THE STEERING COLUMN ADJUSTMENTS OF WHICH THERE ARE TWO ON OUR VEHICLE. THE GREATER CONCERN IS WITH THE LOCKING LATCH ON THE TELESCOPING STEERING COLUMN. IN APPROXIMATELY SIX SEPARATE INCIDENTS, THE LATCH FOR UNKNOWN REASON SLOWLY DROPS WITHOUT WARNING. THE LATCH CAN NOT BE SEEN FROM THE DRIVER POSITION. AN ALARMING SHOCK OCCURS WHEN YOU BRAKE HARD AND LEAN ON THE WHEEL CAUSING THE STEERING WHEEL TO TELESCOPE DOWNWARD SUDDENLY. LOSS OF CONTROL IS TEMPORARY BUT IS DANGEROUS.THE UP AND DOWN ADJUSTMENT LATCH SIMILAR DROPS WITHOUT WARNING BUT NOT AS OFTEN AS THE TELESCOPE LOCK. THESE CONCERNS HAVE BEEN REPORTED TO THE DEALER WHERE WE BOUGHT OUR VEHICLE. ACCORDING TO THE DEALER THEY NOTED NO DEFECT. WE HAVE OUR DOUBTS AND CONCERNS IN VIEW OF THE RECENT ACCELERATOR PEDAL RECALLS. OUR AVALON ACCELERATOR HAS ALREADY BEEN REPAIRED, BUT WE REMAIN APPREHENSIVE. THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT SHOULD OPEN AN INVESTIGATION ON THE STEERING COLUMNS. *TR
I HAVE A 2008 TOYOTA AVALON. THE TELESCOPIC STEERING COLUMN WILL RANDOMLY DEPRESS. THE LATCH THAT HOLDS IT IN PLACE WILL RANDOMLY LOOSEN UP AND THE STEERING COLUMN WILL GO ALL THE WAY IN. I ASKED MY DEALER ABOUT THIS AND THEY SAID IT WASN'T UNDER WARRANTY. I ASKED TOYOTA AND THEY SAID THERE HAD BEEN NO RECALL ON THIS ITEM. JUST THOUGHT I MIGHT MENTION IT WITH ALL THE OTHER PROBLEMS TOYOTA HAS BEEN HAVING. *TR
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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